Australia snatched the 2018 Hockey Champions Trophy from India’s clutches. This time, the game came down to penalties. While India could score only one of their penalties, their opponents scored in three of their attempts.
Throughout the game, the Indian team naively missed a lot of their chances. To their credit, however, India did not go down within regulation time, as they were able to equalise through Vivek.
Ahead of the game, India looked confident – and this was evident from their aggressive attacking play. The team stitched together a variety of impressive moves, but they failed to put the ball inside the goal post. Ultimately, this proved to be India’s undoing.
Towards the end of the game and during the penalties, some of the spectators were seen praying for the team with eyes closed and folded hands. But it didn’t help us at all. Instead, it was Australia that held on to win the tournament for the 15th time.